You may notice I'm back, sorta. Between d33ann's cajoling and my finding lj apps for the iPhone, I'm probably going to be doing more with this.

Regardless, I should make my turn of the year post, since this last year has been a big one for me. I'll start with the biggest for what few of you may not already know:

I'm engaged.No, really! I proposed to the UB* in September. He wasn't quite divorced yet, but his papers had been filed and I knew he'd want to show his ring to his multinational work buddies while he was at the European AFS Workshop. His divorce became final mid-December. Our wedding is planned for October 9th, 2010.

This, of course, means that I've been running around like mad to arrange the wedding. I will be doing so most of this year too!

Other big news is that in July I started a new job as a Technical Support Engineer for Ventyx, Inc. You've probably never heard of them, but they produce industrial management software aimed primarily at nuclear power plants.

The position seems to be a good fit for me now, and leads me closer to development. I also love my coworkers! But you'll probably not see me posting much about my job, the industry is so regulated, I gotta keep my public mouth firmly shut.

The UB also sold his house this year (hence the divorce papers being filed shortly thereafter), so we now have everything in our overstuffed house. We have been working on this slowly, but steadily, and the house is really starting to feel like a home.

The major house related improvements have been: a new garden window in the living room to replace the "ghetto window", a sectional couch (with pullout bed that we still need to figure out) to replace the mismatched and badly fitting couches, an entertainment center, a closet, raised beds for the garden, screen doors, and a soon to be entertainment center for the jacuzzi. There is still a lot to do here, though!

Other news is that I'm still singing in two choirs, and I've been adding occasional projects like opera workshops or special performances to my hectic schedule. The UB and I are learning glassblowing with Vessel Studios in the Southside now. And we continue to travel, attend concerts, and run around with our cameras following trains and/or industrialism.

OK, there's likely much more, but I need to get this house ready for a day of gaming (locals, feel free to stop by if you'd like to join us!) Happy New Year everyone!* I can now name the UB, it's dariaphoebe, but "the UB" has become standard, so I'll continue using it.

When we first started dating, he'd been separated from his wife 10 months, but she was still hurting. He didn't want to spread that we were dating and seriously publically so as to not hurt her further.